My name is Alvaro Balbin. I grew up between Spain and Turkey in a very international environment, which taught me to adapt quickly and move comfortably across cultures. I speak Spanish, English, German and Turkish, and I’m currently learning Italian.
I build because I like taking something that doesn’t exist, breaking it down piece by piece, learning what I need and making it real. The moment I understood the world was built by people no smarter than us, I knew I wanted to contribute something of my own.
I’m drawn to systems that interact with reality: machine learning models deployed end-to-end, embedded systems, perception and control, and tools that make people faster and more capable. I care about things that ship, run and matter.
I work best in small, high-speed teams where ownership is clear and decisions happen fast. I don’t enjoy environments that avoid risk or bury momentum in process. I prefer teams that try things, test quickly and learn by doing.
Long-term, I want to help build or lead a zero-to-one product with real technical depth. I eventually want to either join a founding team or build my own company and push something valuable into the world.
• Co-founder and sole developer of MCA Counselling (https://mca-counselling.com). Launched a counselling platform serving clients across the UK, EU and US. Built the full product stack and led operations. Achieved real revenue and usage.
• Lead roles in two autonomous robotics teams. Managing 19-person (Drones) and 10-person (Autonomous Sailing) engineering teams. Working on real perception, control and power systems for air and marine autonomy.
• Built multiple end-to-end ML + embedded systems (vision tracking, audio classification, real-time autonomy). I focus on systems that run in the physical world, not just in notebooks.
• Competitive powerlifter (600kg BUCS target) and sub-20 5K runner. Consistency and discipline are core to how I work.
• Fluent in Spanish, English, German, and Turkish, currently learning Italian. Grew up internationally and adapt quickly across cultures and teams.
| Project | Your Role and Stack | Impact / Demo |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Framing AI Camera | Solo dev, Python, OpenCV, MediaPipe | https://youtu.be/6LIKZzyblYA |
| MegaMind RAG | Solo dev, Python, FAISS Vector Store, Embeddings, Prompt Engineering | https://youtu.be/lucUFWEMDYA |
| Environmental Audio Classifier | Solo dev, Python, PyTorch, CNN, Audio DSP Pipeline | https://youtu.be/sZRsSX-Q6wA |
| Hull Tactical Competition (Kaggle) | Co-dev, Python, Pandas, Feature Engineering, Walk-forward Backtesting | https://youtu.be/mQCyDRs_Zlw |
More builds (selected): Real-time Kalman tracker (state estimation + CV), FPGA ALU (Verilog), modular ESP32 weather display (laser-cut + PCB).
• Co-founder and Lead Developer, MCA Counselling (May 2025 to Present)
Built and scaled a counselling platform operating across the UK, EU and US. Sole developer for the product stack and led operations and system scaling. Achieved four-figure revenue.
• Project Manager, Team Bath Drones (Autonomous UAV Team) (Sep 2025 to Present)
Leading a 19-person engineering team developing an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle. Coordinating structures, avionics, perception and control system integration. Responsible for testing cycles, risk planning and flight-ready system cohesion.
• Balance Team Lead, Team Bath Autonomous Sailing (Sep 2025 to Present)
Leading a 10-engineer subsystem team designing power distribution and real-time electrical control architecture for an autonomous sailing vessel in collaboration with a marine robotics startup.
• Data Analyst Intern, PadelProShop (Jun 2024 to Aug 2024)
Performed quantitative revenue and inventory analysis on 10,000+ SKUs using NumPy and Pandas. Built automated reporting and recommended pricing adjustments based on elasticity metrics.
• Lead Peer Mentor, University of Bath Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department (2025 to 2026)
Supported first-year students academically and socially, organized structured study and integration sessions, and strengthened cohort collaboration.
Gets me pumped:
Creating something I have no idea how to build at first, figuring it out fast, and getting it working end-to-end in the real world.
Disappoints me:
Low signal-to-noise behaviour, and environments where people avoid risk or avoid ownership.
Strengths:
I learn very fast and adapt quickly in fast-moving, high-pressure situations. I take ownership without needing direction and I have the grit to keep pushing when things get difficult.
Improvement points:
Reducing workload and focusing deeply on one track at a time instead of running too many in parallel.
Comms style:
Straight to the point, clear and collaborative. I ask questions early, move fast, and prefer honest and direct communication over HR-speak.
I compete in powerlifting and I’m currently training for BUCS in May with a target 600kg total.
I also run regularly. My 5k is under 20 minutes and my 4k is around 13 minutes. (Strava available.)
I’m Catholic and take that seriously. It shapes how I think about discipline, purpose and responsibility.
I’m very proud of being Spanish. I believe our culture teaches courage, loyalty and joy, and that societies are better when people take real risks.
I read a lot. Some big influences:
• Seneca and the Stoics
• Thomas Aquinas and Christian philosophy
• Michio Kaku and physics writing
• Rudyard Kipling (The Five Nations has stayed with me)
My favorite book is The Godfather by Mario Puzo.
I’m also planning to read The Count of Monte Cristo soon.
Music matters to me. I like jazz and rock, especially Sting and Scorpions.
I also listen to rap (Biggie) and older Spanish music.
My favorite song is Libre by Nino Bravo.
In 5 years, I see myself building alongside people who are sharp, ambitious and serious about creating new things, not just talking about them.
The Exponential Fellowship aligns with that. I want proximity to people who think boldly, move fast and are willing to bet on themselves. I want to be in rooms where decisions matter and where what we build has real impact.
External profiles and references:
GitHub: https://github.com/AlvaroBalbin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvaro-balbin-ugalde-68b237318/
Website: https://alvarobalbin.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alvaro_balbin/